30's the New 20
Urasawa is a restaurant that you wouldn't know was there,
unless you knew it was there. It's located on the corner of Wilshire and
Luckily for me, I've known about Urasawa's whereabouts for
quite some time, reading about the restaurant in various magazines and food
blogs over the last couple of years. But because of the insanely high tab at
Urasawa (the most expensive in
Well, after a year of planning and saving, my wife and I amassed enough coin for us to eat at Urasawa. And besides, it was my 30th birthday.
Having a birthday in December would be enough to sully the spirits and harden the hearts of even the most cheerful individuals, what with all the holidays going on to distract from any birthday celebrations. I am no different. On top of all that, my older brother also has a December birthday, three days before mine. December during my childhood consisted of sharing the same birthday/Christmas gift with my brother. Sharing is supposed to be good. But it's really not. All it leads to are punches in your stomach and blood in your pee because it's someone else's turn to play with said birthday/Christmas gift. Not good times.
To get into Urasawa, you must take a mysterious elevator up to the second floor. When you exit the elevator, all that separates you from true culinary bliss is a blue curtain and a sliding wooden door.
My wife and I had 6 o'clock reservations and we were the first ones to enter the inner sanctum of Urasawa--a small 10-seat only bar. That's right. Urasawa only serves 10 people a night, no more, no less. Actually, there could be less than 10 if there are no-shows. And if you make reservations to Urasawa, and end up not showing up without giving 24-hours notice, your credit card will be charged $200 per person on your reservation. Why the crazy charge?
Because the selection of food is hand-picked by Urasawa
himself the very morning of your reservation—the array of dishes you will eat
are comprised of the very best ingredients he can get his hands on. There is no ala carte at Urasawa. It is a prix-fixe meal and you will eat whatever Urasawa selects that
day. Most of the fish Urasawa selects is
flown in directly from
When we sat down at the bar made of solid cypress wood, Urasawa's assistant was busy doing some prep work.
I didn’t get a good picture, but next to that giant block of
ice where Urasawa’s assistant (I don’t know homedude’s name) is standing is
where the night’s seafood is on display.
Soon after we sat, Urasawa appeared from the kitchen and came to greet us. He asked us our names and then he introduced himself as Hiro. So I went ahead and addressed him as Hiro-San the rest of the night (respect yo’ elders, sucka!). He also asked the both of us if there were things we wouldn’t eat or if we had food allergies. The wife and I both said “No” and were ready for whatever Hiro-San had to offer.
Opening Courses
Hiro-San then began working on our first course, Goma Tofu,
which he topped off with 24-Karat gold leaf.
Yes, the gold is edible, but it has no flavor. Yes, I scanned my deuces for the next couple of days, and I found no gold floaters. Yes, I am sorry for making a disgusting joke. Yes, I am really 30. Back to dinner…
The Goma Tofu looked like a dumpling floating in broth. Inside the tofu dumpling was Cod Fish Sperm Sack. I’m not kidding. The tofu-encased sperm sack was incredibly rich and smooth. It was unlike anything I had ever tasted in my life. I never thought I would ever type these next few words, but…
The Sperm Sack tasted wonderful.
Wow.
In all seriousness, I’m only on the first course of this review, and I’m already at a loss of words. I don’t think I could properly describe how each of the individual courses of this meal tasted (by the way, when I say course, the wife and I each had our own serving of whatever Hiro-San prepared—we didn’t eat off of the same plate). My wife and I were blown away by everything we ate. Even the sperm sack.
Our second course was Ikura (Salmon Roe) on top of some kind of egg custard laced with crab, Uni (Sea Urchin Roe), and again Cod Fish Sperm sack. The orange spheres of salmon roe were so fresh, and delicate, each of them bursting in my mouth with just a hint of brininess—these Ikura were far superior from the usual too-salty balls served at run-of-the-mill sushi joints. I couldn’t pick out the individual flavors of the crab, uni, or sperm sack, but as a whole, this course was again outstanding.
Our next course was a small sampling of shellfish and Japanese pickled vegetables. In the picture above, the black object topped with fresh green wasabi at the left is abalone innards: a chewy, yet yielding piece of abalone liver that had the concentrated flavor of abalone. Then, moving counter-clockwise in the above picture there is a woody and earthy Matsutake mushroom, a snow pea, Japanese radish, an aged egg (I’m guessing at that, I don’t really remember what it was), a shrimp, burdock root, and a cucumber filled with baby shrimp.
Meanwhile, Hiro-San was busy working on our sashimi course:
Our sashimi was beautifully presented on an ice sculpture. We had toro tuna, red snapper, and I’m not sure about the last fish on the right. But whatever it was, it was a testament to Hiro-San’s precise knife skills as the flesh of the fish was scored to yield tiny pillars topped with silvery skin.
Around this time, a second couple showed up. Hiro-San went through the same routine of asking them their names, introducing himself, and asking if they had any food aversions. They both said “No” and started on their meal. Because we were a few courses ahead of this couple, it was fun to watch their reactions as they experienced the same divine foods we had just tasted.
Although it’s hard to pick a favorite course, the next course we were served was at the top of my list:
That, my friends, is a hunk of Matsusaka Beef from
Anyhoo, Hiro-San had a small grill that consisted of a bowl filled with hot coals, on top of this bowl was a grate. Hiro-San then lopped off a hunk of fat from the Matsusaka Beef and then rubbed it on the grates of the hot grill.
He basically used the beef’s own fat as lubricant for the grill, so that the beef wouldn’t stick, and also to torture me. He then grilled small pieces of the beef for maybe 1 minute total, and then topped it with freshly grated yuzu zest and freshly grated wasabi.
Hiro-San also served the beef with Okinawan salt (Japanese sea salt with traces of seaweed in it).
The Matsusaka beef was other-worldly. The fat, salt, citrus, and wasabi all melted
together into a fleeting experience that I knew I should savor as long as
possible. It was good. After nearly dying from pure ecstasy, I asked
Hiro-San the difference between Kobe Beef and Matsusaka Beef. He told us they were basically the same type
of beef (wagyu) but that they came from different places in
After our Matsusaka Beef course, I decided to slow down on
the picture-taking. It was distracting
to me and I felt like I was concentrating too much on pictures and not enough
on the food. And besides, it would take
me forever if I attempted to describe every dish we had that night. But let me try putting things in perspective. Following our Matsusaka Beef was a course of
tofu skin, crab brain, and gingko nuts, and then a shabu-shabu course of foie
gras, scallops, and more beef, and then a course of
Sushi Galore
Hiro-San dipping into his sushi rice.
Uni
Abalone
Fresh Wasabi Root
Matsusaka Beef Sushi
Before he set down the first piece of sushi for us, Hiro-San told us that we must eat it immediately so that the fish remained as fresh as possible. We were happy to oblige as we plucked up the sushi with our fingers as soon as he put them down. I didn’t take a picture of every piece of sushi, but by me and my wife’s estimates, we think we had 12-15 different types that night, including toro (the “King of Sushi” as Hiro-San told us), shrimp, baby shrimp, squid, giant clam, and many others I can’t remember the names of. Needless to say, the sushi Hiro-San prepared for us was the best I’ve had. Ever. Evaaaah!
A Little Side Story
I was on top of the world during our sushi courses. It was my 30th birthday and I was
at a restaurant I had dreamed of experiencing for so long. And then, a group of four people came into
the restaurant: A father and mother, a 20-something daughter who looked like
she got shot with Homer Simpson’s makeup gun (it was set for “whore”), and a
friend of the daughter.
They were a loud bunch, especially the daughter who more or less commanded her father to order champagne as soon as they sat down. And when they sat down Hiro-San again asked their names, introduced himself, and asked about their food aversions. They all said “No”.
However, when this group was presented with their first course (the same Goma Tofu my wife and I were served), the daughter had this disgusted look on her face and just pushed her bowl aside. Besides picking at the gold leaf, she didn’t even try the dish.
Now, I'm a pretty observant guy, and I like to think that I can read people well. And even though Hiro-San remained expressionless, I could still see in his face that his blood was boiling at this point. But nothing was said.
Then the second dish was brought out to this group, and again the daughter picked at it and pushed it aside without trying a bite. Then, Hiro-San could take no more and said to the group, “How do you know about my restaurant?”
To which the father replied, “Everyone says such good things about it here. We’ve heard your food is good. Don’t mind my daughter, she’s just a picky eater.”
I then nudged my wife with my elbow because I knew something awesome was about to happen.
Hiro-San then raised his voice and said, “This is Japanese
restaurant, but like Burger King, have it your way!” Hiro-San then leaped over
the counter and proceeded to beat the girl with his flying fist of
Is this thing on?
Ok, that didn’t really happen. This is what Hiro-San really said:
“If it’s so good, why don’t you eat my food? This is TRADITIONAL Japanese Restaurant! I don’t have spicy tuna or tempura here!”
Zing!
Although, he didn’t directly say it, Hiro-San was basically putting the daughter on blast for rudely snubbing his food, and everyone knew he was pissed about it.
After that, it got very uncomfortable at Urasawa. There was an awkward silence for a good 5-Mississippi count. Then the daughter said to her friend, “I think I’m offended. I don’t have to eat his food if I don’t want, we’re paying for it anyways. We should just go to Geisha House or something.”
The girl then started pleading with her father that they should leave and spend their money somewhere else if she was going to be forced to eat food she didn’t like.
I was hoping Hiro-San had a Hattori Hanzo sword at the ready with which to behead this disrespectful and rude whore of a girl. But he didn’t. Sad, that.
After a bit of hemming and hawing, the father leaned over to my wife and apologized for his daughter and said he was sorry if our night was ruined. He then pulled aside one of Urasawa’s servers and whispered something in her ear. The server said something in Japanese to Hiro-San, he replied very gruffly and waved his hand. The server then brought out the check, and the father paid, and off they went. I’m not sure how much they were charged, but I’m sure it was for more than just two courses and champagne.
The reason I wanted to share this story is because I thought
it a very good example of what to expect from Urasawa. As if you couldn’t already tell from some of
the courses I described above, Urasawa is indeed, a VERY TRADITIONAL Japanese
restaurant serving Kaiseki-style delicacies. Please don’t go to Urasawa expecting spicy tuna or
After they had left, I asked Hiro-San if that sort of thing happens often. To my surprise, he said it was the first time (I figured he must get a difficult customer at least once every now and then). But Hiro-San stressed to me that that is why he makes sure to first ask his customers if there is anything they would not eat, and then he would try to accommodate them as much as possible.
He then told us that he makes ZERO profit because of the
Hiro-San told us that he just loves doing what he does, and he loves serving his own unique style of Japanese food to his customers (some of whom save and wait for months just to get a chance at a reservation). It’s not about money with Hiro-San, it’s about passion and culture.
And that is why I was just so disturbed by this girl’s attitude. I’m not really one to judge, I'm probably the least mature 30 year old I know (I made a poop joke just a few paragraphs back). But I at least have enough sense to not completely disrespect someone else's culture because daddy's got a few Benjamins and a Black card in his wallet (my dad actually has a couple of Hamiltons and a laminated picture of his middle digit in his wallet, go figure).
Dessert
Anyways, after that whole debacle the vibe returned to
normal at Urasawa. Hiro-San was back to
being friendly and jovial and my wife and I enjoyed a few more pieces of
sushi. Then we had our dessert courses. The first of which was Tamago—a sweet
Japanese egg omelet. Hiro-San’s Tamago
looked so pedestrian and ordinary and resembled a cubed piece of any sponge or
pound cake, but this Tamago was anything but ordinary. It was light and airy, but yet was dense
enough to satisfy our sweet tooths. It
was incredible.
But that was only our first dessert course. Yes, there is more. We were then served sesame ice cream that was paired with matcha tea.
The sesame ice cream was so smooth and sweet and tasted almost like peanut butter. It was a perfect foil to the gritty and bitter matcha.
Our last course was an aged Japanese persimmon.
I’ve had the harder types of persimmon before, the ones that have a texture and firmness similar to apples. But I’ve never had the soft variety before. The persimmon at Urasawa was very soft and had an almost marmalade-y texture when I dug into it with my spoon. It wasn’t as sweet as I thought it would be, but like everything else we had that night, it made sense in the context of the meal. It was a very fitting final course.
After the persimmon, we were served small cups of roasted green tea. We took our time savoring the simplicity of the tea, but after we finished, our cups kept getting refilled. There was no rush for us to leave the restaurant.
I then started to think back and tried to remember everything we ate. We guessed that we had 25-30 courses during our three-hour meal. Yes, 25-30 courses. Yes, a three-hour meal. Despite the small interruption, our experience at Urasawa was one we will never forget. It was easily the best meal of my life and, to us, it was worth every penny.
As we sipped away on our roasted green tea, we found out more about Hiro-San. He likes to surf any chance he gets, he practices Karate, he’s in his 40’s, and he says he has no complaints about his life.
I can only hope that by the time I reach 40, I am as confident in my place in the world as Hiro-San.
OMG! I am still laughing about your rude girl. So many times haven't we all been in a restaurant and seen something like this?! I lived in Italy for three years and so many times I would see my fellow Americans embarrass themselves by doing ignorant things. In Italy the tradition is to serve you any shellfish still in the shell. This seems innocent enough until you get a seafood pasta where you have to dig through the noodles to find them all or get a crunchy surprise. (They even give you a bowl for the shells.) Now, the REASON why they do this is to show you that you are getting FRESH shellfish, not something that was frozen solid five minutes ago. SO MANY TIMES!!! I heard Americans say, "why are we paying so much for this if we have to shell it ourselves?" and they say it loudly.
So, I sympathize but it looks and sounds like you still had an amazing time!
Posted by: Lewis | December 18, 2007 at 07:32 PM
Cheers to Hiro-San's reaction. That bitch had it coming. What a poser. Disrespecting food like that. I myself am not a big sushi eater but its respect to the chef to try it and experience it.
Its not about the money, its about respect for your craft and produce. Any self-respecting chef would act just the way chef-sama did. Like angry Oprah.
Posted by: Chad | December 18, 2007 at 09:53 PM
First of all: Belated happy birthday! :)
Interesting experience. I'm not the type to be frightened of food but I think I'd feel too embarrassed to eat at a very exclusive and very expensive place (I still can't shake my third-world roots-- my birthday came up and I refused a steak dinner in favor of a reasonably-priced Japanese bistro). I find it hard to believe that Hiro-san makes zero profit.. That would mean he essentially eats whatever waste he generates from the food, haha :) The gold leaf also seems a little excessive for something that is inert and ultimately has no taste-- and probably not a hallmark of traditional Japanese cuisine. It's like beating you upside the head with "LUXURY!!!"
I know it sounds like I'm being very critical, sorry :) I've never been to Beverly Hills, so I'm guessing this is par for the course. In any case, everything looks wonderful-- I'm very curious about the custard with salmon roe (I'm not really a fan of beef).
Imagine the dismay of those Googling the website with "the tastiest sperm sacks!" :)
Posted by: Manggy | December 18, 2007 at 10:02 PM
You have just officially caused me to hate you. At least for a few moments right now, I am hating you with a passion because I am envious beyond belief. Knowing that it's highly unlikely I could ever replicate your experience makes me seethe!
...Okay, hating over...
Thanks for this delicious and, as usual, funny post! I'll be linking this to several like-minded friends.
Just out of curiousity, and so that I can imagine that I could someday go to Urosawa, how much does a dinner like this set one back? If they charge $200 for no-shows, I can't even guess what a 25-course meal would cost.
Posted by: Katrina | December 18, 2007 at 10:15 PM
Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I can imagine how frustrating a December birthday must be, so I'm glad you got to celebrate it in a very special way, and got an interesting story out of it, to boot.
Posted by: Katrina | December 18, 2007 at 10:21 PM
what a rude bitch! i'm surprised he didn't slap a hoe, she would've deserved it! spoiled bratty ungrateful bitches...but that would be when keepin' it real goes wrong.
on the flip side...that looks like quite a meal...i'm totally jealous.
wow, he doesn't make any profit off of this place...he's definitely keepin' it real.
you know, if someone insulted you and said you were a sperm sack snacker, you couldn't disagree.
"YOU ATE A SPERM SACK!!! NEENER NEENER NEENER!"
*end of immaturity backlash*
Posted by: Janice | December 19, 2007 at 12:33 AM
hello, Marvin! Can't help but comment. I have been a lurker but since it is or was your birthday, I decided to post a comment and greet you as well---BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I'm a Pinay through and through and get a kick in reading your posts! This post is just so generous in servings!...like i was one of Urusawa's guests as well. I could have eaten that brat's portions myself! It's paid for, anyway! A work of fine art! I'm also reminded of the movie "Babette's Feast".
Just proves that there are times that moneyed people are just that---with money :-)! Sorry to say, I have also known some Americans of that kind.
Kudos to Burnt Lumpia!
Posted by: bernadette | December 19, 2007 at 02:53 AM
Happy Birthday Marvin.
Keep the very real, funny and passionate posts coming.
Posted by: desie the maybahay | December 19, 2007 at 03:59 AM
My god, the young girl's conniption fits remind me of the lite version of the Thief from "The Cook the Thief his Wife and her Lover"! I absolutely HATE people like that, throwing their money around but ultimately inconsiderate of quality when it stares them right in the face...
Posted by: Ed | December 19, 2007 at 06:36 AM
Give me four chicken wings fried hard!
Posted by: TeddyKim | December 19, 2007 at 08:55 AM
I just teared up a little. I relished every word of this post just as you relished every course. But I have no words that can convey my distaste for that girl...and I'm happy that I don't, because really, you said it all.
Happy Birthday Marvin.
Posted by: elmomonster | December 19, 2007 at 09:27 AM
Happy Birthday!
That's quite a splurge. I'm so envious. I've read about Urasawa from several other blogs too and everyone is just blown away by the whole experience.
BTW, don't know if it's true, but I read somewhere that Hiro kicked out Janet Jackson when she insisted on a spider roll. So when you segued into the bratty teen story, I wasn't surprised. :P
Posted by: Wandering Chopsticks | December 19, 2007 at 09:33 AM
What a great post!!! Happy birthday, first off! I loved 30--it was my best year ever, and 31 is shaping up awesomely, too. I hope your 30th year is just as awesome as mine was! How LUCKY that you got to interact with Hiro during the course of the meal! That's one of the great things about Japanese joints. As for the rude girl ... good riddance. I'll leave it at that, though I could go on for paragraphs. I'm glad you had an awesome meal!
Posted by: Julie | December 19, 2007 at 10:16 AM
Happy B-day! Welcome to the 30's club!
Sounds like you had a exquisite dinner. What I don't get is why in the world the parents would bring a picky eater to a place where you don't get to pick what you're going to eat??
Posted by: darbunk | December 19, 2007 at 10:19 AM
Happy 30th Marvin! That's one dinner fit for a king, or an emperor.;D
Reading your post is almost like watching a very good movie complete with a villain to hate.:)
Posted by: oggi | December 19, 2007 at 11:33 AM
Belated Happy Birthday! Welcome to the club!!
Thanks for allowing me to almost be part of your great experience.
Good for Hiro for putting her in her place. Maybe I will include a dinner at Urasawa in my dream dinner list =)
Posted by: raissa | December 19, 2007 at 11:38 AM
happy birthday dear marvin, didnt know just like me you are a sagittarian too!! anyways im glad you talked about your japanese dining experience..coz the food you had were the real authentic jap food..its not just sushi or maki that most people are familiar with..knowing jap chefs "respect" for food that they work hard for is very important..i remember how many times i was forced to "swallow without chewing" some jap delicacies i was given extra coz im a foreigner that speaks japanese..:-)
Posted by: dhanggit | December 20, 2007 at 02:06 AM
Happy birthday, Marvin! A similar omakase-only restaurant Kappo just opened in Seattle but I'm sure not as decadent or expensive! The Japanese are very passionate about whatever their craft in life--and perfectionists too! I'm with you, I hope I can be as confident in my place in the world as Hiro-san by my next decade.
Posted by: Pat | December 20, 2007 at 08:57 AM
Oh wow, that is a great experience! Truly worhty of celebrating your 30th birthday! I love the marbling on that beef too...rawr! Sorry there was a little incident with that ignorant girl but I'm glad you still enjoyed the best meal in your life!
Posted by: veron | December 20, 2007 at 10:15 AM
You're an old man.
Congrats on enjoying sperm sack in your mouth. That, to me, will never be not funny. But I'm only 28, so I can afford to be more immature. Maybe.
When the girl came in, did you greet her properly? You know - "THERE'S A BITER!"
I'd like to see you work more pop-culture references in next time. Only three that I noticed on this one. Shame.
Oh, and make sure to take off that retarded leg.
Posted by: Matt Hurst | December 20, 2007 at 10:25 AM
I was so disgusted by that girl's behaviour! Bleep! Bleep! Idiot!
I'm glad that the evening was not totally ruined for you and the Mrs.
Posted by: Cynthia | December 20, 2007 at 02:23 PM
Hi Lewis. The perception of Americans in other countries is not helped when we actually do act this way sometimes. But we're not all like that;) Thanks for stopping by my blog!
Thanks for visiting Chad! And that girl did have it coming;)
Thanks Manggy! And I know you weren't being critical. And you shouldn't be frightened to eat anywhere. I rolled into Urasawa with a pair of jeans and some dusty sneakers and I felt just fine;)
Don't hate me Katrina! As far as price goes, it's $275 pp. Keep in mind, I started saving for this long ago.
Hey Janice. Yes, many many things can go wrong when keepin it real;)
Thanks for coming out of lurkdome to wish me a happy b-day bernadette! I hope you stay out of lurkdome and comment often.
Thanks Desie!
You and me both, Ed. That girl could probably afford to eat anywhere she wants, yet she took the whole experience for granted.
TK, and don't put no onions in my shrimp-fried rice!
Thanks Elmo! I could have said more about her, but she didn't deserve it.
Thanks WC. I've heard similar stories about Ms. Jackson, but Hiro-san didn't mention her.
Hi Julie. It's only been a couple weeks, but so far so good for 30.
I didn't get it either Darbunk! You would think the father had more sense than that.
Thanks oggi! She definitely was a villain!
Hi Raissa. Urasawa should be on everyone's dream dinner list.
Hello dhanggit. All Sagitarrius must have good taste;)
Thanks Pat. I've still got a ways to go till 40, so there's time for me yet.
Hello veron! Yes, it was very good marbling on that beef, hee hee.
Hurst, not that I write for your approval, nor was I counting, but I did go back and check and there are more than 3 references. That just means I'm more of a dork though.
Hi Cynthia, yes, despite everything, it was still a great experience.
Posted by: Burnt Lumpia | December 27, 2007 at 04:06 PM
BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY oh wise food sage!
This food tale was very mouth-watering and colorful.
Full of the suspense, drama, action and fantasy which makes your posts akin to watching epic movies.
Chef Hiroyuki Urasawa is amazing. He is like a samurai warrior following his calling with a quiet clarity of mind and deadly skill.
Posted by: Ruy | December 27, 2007 at 07:21 PM
Way to be suckered in by the "in" restraunt. You paid an assload of money to get served a series of mediocre fish entrails and Matsusaka beef which is really the same as Wagyu but more expensive because of the name. The funniest thing is that you belittle the one person in the restraunt with the balls to actually express their tastes instead of bowing to a price tag and the opinions of others. Even more ironic is that this pompus japanese asshole was expressing his displeasure at a guest's rudeness by being rude himself AND taking an obscene amount of money in return. Real hero there. If you expect to be taken seriously about your culinary opinions here's a few pointers. Try actually remembering what was in each dish before you say it was amazing, exquisite, orgasmic, or any other excessive adjective you can think of. Try remembering that dining is about the food, not the reputation and buzz around the chef. Try not encouraging rudeness followed by highway robbery. Try not using some ridiculous asian culture metaphores to justify a meal as exceptional just because it's not what the typical American family would eat.
Posted by: Your Mom | January 03, 2009 at 08:39 AM
Thanks "mom"! I'm glad you took all that time to read through all my ramblings at such a late hour on a Friday night! I know that you read each and every single word because you showed so much understanding of my viewpoint! That makes me feel so warm and fuzzy on the insides!
You're the real hero here. Thanks so much for leaving those great pointers so that people will take my "culinary opinions" seriously. I will try, try, try, to incorporate all your pointers--especially the one about not encouraging rudeness. I'm so very lucky to have a matronly figure in my life who understands that I want nothing more than for people to take me seriously. There's no irony in that at all!
Posted by: Burnt Lumpia | January 03, 2009 at 08:42 AM